Phoenix Day Care
by Captain T-Rex
Summary: Zavid snuck around for a bit, hardly doing anything, and still gets punished. With little kids. This is gonna be miserable. (Forum-based)
1. Bitchy Baby

Well, the Gods were pretty pissed with Zavid. He didn't mean to sneak around with Josephine to find the duct tape. Hell, he had left before he could get in trouble. Apparently that wasn't good enough. They punished him in the worst way possible. Turning all the campers into toddlers. His life was going to be miserable for however long this stupid punishment lasted.

"I'm gonna be having nightmares about this..." He muttered, rubbing his temples. The Gods told him that each child, one at a time, would only appear in the building when they were turned. They also said that Evangeline was not going to be there. The toddlers wouldn't remember him when they were turned.

Askira magically appeared in a puff of white smoke. Zavid wailed. "Not her."

Askira glared at Zavid. He reached out to pick up the little girl, but she reached up and pinched his nose harshly. "Child!" He snapped.

"Askira," she corrected grumpily. He narrowed his eyes, pinching her hand to get her to release his nose. It worked. Yelping, she let go. Zavid picked her up.

Askira started thrashing, kicking and screaming. Zavid held her over the playpen, not bothering to open it, dropping her in. Askira began to wail and scream, rattling the bars of the pen angrily. "Let me out!" The five-year old screamed repeatedly. After about ten minutes, Zavid couldn't take it anymore. He opened a drawer in his desk, grabbing tiny plastic handcuffs. He carefully opened the playpen "door".

Askira sneered at him, making a break for it. She would've gotten away, had Zavid not grabbed the back of her shirt, pulling sharply and causing her to fall on her back. She squeaked when he grabbed her tiny wrists, securing the plastic handcuffs before shoving her back into the playpen and securing the latch.

Askira, being a toddler, thought that she wouldn't be able to keep screaming (because little kids aren't the smartest) since the handcuffs were now on her. Defeated, she crawled into the corner of the pen, sulking.

Another puff of white smoke. There she was. A tiny Willow. She was actually very cute. She looked up at him with wide amber eyes, squealing and clapping her hands. He bent down, brushing her messy dirty blonde hair out of her face, earning a giggle. He picked up the three-year old, gently setting her down in the pen.

Askira gave her a suspicious look as Zavid dumped colorful Legos into the playpen. Willow scooted closer to Askira, giving her a hug. Askira immediately flinched, flailing. Her hand hit Willow's chin with a bit of strength. Willow immediately jumped back, starting to sob.

Zavid groaned. "Askira, you're such a troublemaker." He reached into the pen, picking her up and earning a confused look and angry screech. "You're going in the box."

Askira raised a tiny toddler eyebrow. "Box?"

Zavid didn't answer. He simply put her in a five foot tall cardboard box, the top open. Askira screeched. "Hey! Let me out!"

Zavid shook his head. Willow had stopped crying and now was giggling and squealing as she made a rainbow pyramid with her Legos. She looked up at Zavid and waved. Zavid couldn't help but to smile softly.

Another poof of white smoke. A little kid Ben looked up at Zavid, smiling cheekily. Zavid groaned. "Why? Why? WHY?"

Zavid went to pick Ben up, but the little boy jumped to his feet and made a wild attempt to escape the daycare (that used to be the Big House).

When he couldn't reach the handle, Ben growled in frustration. He took off to the other side, right when Zavid was about to grab him. "Get back here!"

"No!" Ben retorted, sticking his tongue out. He stumbled, halting himself so he didn't fall. Seizing the opportunity, Zavid leapt at him, grabbing him. Ben thrashed. "No! Nooooooooooo! Put me down! Dowwwwwwwnnnnn!"

Zavid shook his head, dropping the squirming child into the pen. Ben scowled, then started building something with his Legos. Zavid sat down, enjoying a few moments of peace. He opened his eyes, turning to look at Ben. Ben was building a tiny Trojan horse with his Legos, allowing Willow to help him as he directed her on where to put each piece. He smiled.

There was another poof of white smoke as Asher appeared. Oh no. The little boy started laughing as he raced around, knocking over everything he possibly could. Askira pressed her face against the prison-like bars that Zavid cut into the Box to make a window. "Hey!" She shouted at Asher, but he ignored her. She shouted at Ben and Willow, but they ignored her was well.

Asher started laughing as he latched on to Zavid's leg, holding tight. It took a few minutes of walking around and pulling at the child's arms to get him off. He dropped him in to the pen. Zavid dumped more toys in, hoping that that would earn him peace and quiet.

Instead, Askira started wailing, desperately flailing to try to escape the Box. Asher played with two rubber ducks, making them fight, making dramatic death noises each time one killed the other. Willow's high-pitched voice was very loud and Ben was being overzealous.

Asher began to get irritated at Askira's screeching and sobbing. "Be quiet!" He shouted, but it didn't work. "Stop it!"

Ben grumbled. "Yeah! We are trying to build!"

Willow stared blankly at the three of them, completely indifferent. She went back to building her pyramid while waiting for Ben to help build the Trojan horse more. The two boys kept shouting at Askira, who was now shouting back.

"Stop crying!"

"Stop building and get me out of here!"

"No!"

Willow sang quietly as she built. "Somewhewe, ova the rainbow..."

"Help me out!"

"But we are stuck, too!"

"Yeah! Do you even deserve it anyway?

Willow placed another blue brick on her pyramid. "Whewe t'ouble melts like lemon drops..."

Groaning, Zavid rubbed his head. "Now I have a headache..."

* * *

 **Oh, Askira.**

 **I'm going to put about four or five new toddlers each chapter, to add on to each ones already here.**

 **Poor Zavid.**


	2. Torment

"Hey, Davii?" Ben said, still completely incapable at pronouncing Zavid's name that he had been trying to teach them for the past twenty minutes.

Zavid groaned, setting down large cushions in the play pen for the little kids to be comfortable. "Yes, Ben?"

Ben lifted a key he made out of Legos. "What do you think about dis?"

Zavid was silent for a few moments, climbing out of the pen, then shrugged. "What's it for?"

"For every door in 'e world," Ben explained.

Zavid chuckled. "It looks great."

Askira banged on the side of the Box. She put her hands through the "prison bars", making gestures with them at Zavid. Zavid wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Young lady!" He scolded.

Askira stuck her tongue out. Zavid rolled his eyes. His eyes widened in fear as he saw another poof of white smoke. It disappeared, and the toddler standing there was one he ended up not being so scared of. Josephine. Her ankle was healed, but Zavid guessed that that was just while she was a toddler.

He felt a little weird that his girlfriend...was a toddler, then he remembered that while they were little, they really didn't know him at all. Josephine stared at him for a long few moments, then picked up a random Lego that had went soaring over the pen earlier, and threw it at Zavid.

Askira laughed loudly at that. "Yeah!"

Asher started laughing, too, unable to help it. Willow snatched the key out of Ben's hand, gnawing on it. Ben frowned. "Give that back!"

Zavid growled at Josephine, irritated. Josephine stuck her tongue out. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. He scooped Josephine up and practically threw her in to the pen. It all happened in a flash. Little Josephine landed on her belly on a cushion. She turned to look up at him, her eyes wide with fear. She burst into tears.

Willow accidentally pulled the key in the wrong direction, startled, causing it to fall apart. Ben stared at the pile of Legos that he had spent a while shaping into the key. His face screwed up and started wailing. Feeling guilty, Willow joined in the crying, creating a hideous chorus of tears with the other two.

Askira started to shake the Box with all her might, screaming. Asher started to feel uncomfortable from all the chaos. Tears pricked his eyes, and he started crying gently, not nearly as loud as the others. Askira started screaming very inappropriate curse words, which made Asher cry harder.

Zavid's eyes widened. "No, no, no, Josephine, don't cry, I'm sorry!" He started panicking when she only cried harder. Askira flipped him off. "Let me the f-"

"Askira!"

"Screw your mother!" She screamed. "Screw her for giving you life!"

Zavid growled. "Askira, that's enough!"

Askira screamed loudly. "HELP ME! HE'S TRYING TO MURDER ME! HE HAS A DAGGER!"

Zavid hated that. He reached into the Box, slapping her hard on the back of the head. "Shut up, you stupid toddler!" Askira spat at him.

Josephine was practically screaming with tears now. Willow, obviously exhausted from crying, had fallen asleep. Ben feebly tried to piece his key back together, but his tears were halting him. Asher simply rocked back and forth as he cried, wanting everyone to stop being mad and sad.

Zavid was on the verge of a mental breakdown. "Everyone, be quiet!" He shouted loudly. The kids immediately halted, looking at him with fear, Willow jolting awake.

Askira shouted a million curse words, but Zavid's venomous look stopped her. In another poof of white smoke, Fraya was there. Josephine crossed her arms curling up in the corner angrily. Ben sullenly worked on his key, Willow falling back asleep.

Zavid sighed. Fraya tilted her little head, peering at him curiously. He picked her up. She giggled, poking his cheek. Zavid sighed again, setting her down in the pen. "Hi!" Asher greeted.

At least they didn't remember each other. Little kids dating? That would be weird. After a few minutes of them chatting, Asher started tickling Fraya, who squealed with laughter. Josephine gripped the pen's bars, staring at Zavid.

Zavid felt uncomfortable, still guilty about making her cry. He frowned when there was more white smoke. "Another child? Already?" He mumbled. Standing there, with her blonde hair, was Elora. She squeaked when Zavid picked her up and grumpily set her down in the pen.

For being de-aged to five years old, Askira had a very dirty mouth. So dirty, in fact, that he had to wrap a cloth around her mouth to get her to stop.

"Who wants snacks?" He asked, still feeling irritated. The children all brightened up at that. Except for Willow. Who was still sleeping. Zavid offered a cookie to Elora. "This is a pretty healthy cookie," he said jokingly. "It has coconut oil in it."

Elora wrinkled her nose at that. "No."

Almost immediately, Fraya snatched it out of Zavid's hand. "I'll try it!" She took a large bite of the cookie, giving Elora a look. "You can't even taste the coconut!" Elora sniffed, not responding.

Zavid had no idea how Askira managed to get the cloth off of her because he had tied it pretty well, but next thing he knew, she was screaming. "LET ME OUT OF THIS DAMN BOX!"

"No." Zavid said simply. There was more smoke and Ty appeared. Zavid groaned. "So many kids...Ty, do you want a cookie?"

Ty grinned. The five-year old didn't respond, simply snatching a chocolate chip cookie and devouring it.

Willow woke up. She stared at the plate of cookies, her eyes still half-closed from just waking up. Zavid offered her a cookie and she took it.

Askira screeched more profanities. Zavid gritted his teeth. "Askira. You are the bane of my existence right now."

"Does it look like I care?" She snapped, violently shaking the Box more.

Zavid simply sighed, wishing and wishing that this torment would end already.


	3. Maybe Not All Bad

If a little stupid kid asked to go to the restroom one. More. Time, Zavid's head was going to explode. They kept trying to escape. If he had to turn into a manticore and carry them in his mouth, he will do it. He. Will. Askira was the worst. Trying to throw knives at him. The nerve.

Zavid was currently having a wrestling match with Ty, who was trying her hardest to get away. Needless to say, he was infuriated. He held up Ty and tossed her on to one of the cushions.

"If one of you little brats tries to escape one more time," Zavid hissed, losing his cool. "I will throw you in the Box with Askira." At hearing that, Askira glared at everyone, sneering and cracking her tiny knuckles.

Josephine scoffed. Zavid glared at her. "What was that?"

Josephine shrugged, acting innocent. "Young lady!" Zavid snarled. "Do you want to be in the Box?" Josephine rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

Zavid nearly screamed when Danny appeared. Zavid picked up the child and plopped him on to a cushion. "Hi!" Ty squeaked.

"Hi," Danny murmured shyly, smiling.

"Danny, let me tell you the rules," Zavid said. "No trying to escape. I've got a bunch of annoying little kids to deal with already. And if you try to escape even once, you are going in the Box. Got it?"

Danny nodded quickly, staring at him with wide eyes. Zavid sighed. "Sorry, I'm not usually like this. This is just really stressf-OH COME ON!" He wailed sorrowfully when Aithne appeared. "Nooooooooooooo. Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Holding back frustrated tears, he set Aithne in the pen. Ben presented her with the Lego Trojan horse. "What do you think of dis?"

Her eyes widened. "Ooh! I like it!"

Willow tapped Aithne and gestured to her rainbow pyramid. "Ooh!" Aithne exclaimed.

"Do you wanna know how is so preety?" Willow asked. Aithne nodded. Ben sat down next to the two girls. "Well," Willow started. "I sing somewhewe ova the rainbow."

Zavid listened to the kids for thirty minutes, assuming that no more would be coming at the time. He was wrong. Nesia and Adira appeared at the same time. The poor man felt like ripping the hair out of his scalp. Inhaling sharply, he put them both in the pen, repeating the same thing he had told Danny.

After a few more minutes, Ben, Aithne, and Willow started singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. They kept repeating the song over and over and over. Nesia started to get irritated. "Be quiet!" He shouted, kicking Ben's Trojan horse and destroying it.

"Neeza!" Adira exclaimed. And then, chaos reigned. Zavid put earplugs in, grabbing plastic handcuffs and securing them on Nesia's wrists, placing him in the Box. Askira snarled at the new prisoner.

Zavid's earplugs didn't work. He could still hear the horribly loud screaming and crying. This was cruel and unusual punishment.

"Neeza! Why you did that?" Adira shouted at her friend, crying. Nesia didn't respond, having a staring contest with Askira. Adira clenched her fists, stamping her foot. She ran over to Ben, Aithne, and Willow, furiously trying to rebuild the Trojan horse. "No crying!" She squeaked. "Is okay!"

Aithne let out a scared scream when a spider crawled on her leg. The screaming became worse. Zavid leaned over, swatting the spider off her leg and squishing it. After an hour and a half, everyone had finally stopped crying. Although it didn't look as good As Ben's, Adira had rebuilt the Trojan horse as best as she could.

"Thank you," Ben sniffled. "Meanie!" He shouted at Nesia.

Nesia's lip curled, but he didn't respond. Josephine scowled. "You all annoying."

"You are, too, Josephine," Zavid snapped.

"And so are you," Josephine retorted.

Zavid grabbed plastic handcuffs. Although he didn't put her in the Box, he put the handcuffs on her. She didn't like that. "Take them off!"

Zavid shook his head. Josephine's face turned red. "Ugh. They're annoying."

"Don't care," Zavid said shortly.

"You're mean."

"No, I'm not. I've been punished to deal with children. I don't like taking care of little kids."

"So you don't like me?"

"I like older you. A lot. Not this you."

"Grown-ups are mean."

Zavid didn't respond.

Josephine started bouncing up and down. "Grown-ups are mean, grown-ups are mean," she taunted in a sing-song voice. After about ten minutes of this, Zavid's last nerve snapped. He yanked her out of the pen and placed her in the Box.

"Is usually like you?" Willow questioned.

Zavid sighed, shaking his head. "No. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Is okay," Adira reassured, smiling. Zavid smiled softly.

Maybe not all kids are bad.


	4. Time to Hunt

No. More. Kids. Zavid was losing his mind. On top of that, guess who just appeared? Of course, it had to be James. It. Had. To. Be. Him.

Zavid had wrestled the little boy into the play pen, earning a kick in the teeth and a pull on the nose. James attempted to squirm over the top of the pen, but Zavid tickled him, causing him to squeal and drop onto a cushion, nearly landing on Willow. Willow just stared at him, still as indifferent as she had been the entire time.

Zavid's eyes widened to the size of balloons when he realized that Fraya was not in the pen. He looked back and forth, but to no avail. He looked at Asher. "Where's Fraya?"

Asher gnawed on a Lego brick, and immediately stopped when Zavid talked to him. "Why are you asking me?"

Zavid began to panic. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, I lost a BABY! I LOST A BABY!"

Askira sneered. "You would make a bad dad."

Zavid glared at the child. He grabbed a rubber band and slung it at her. She flinched, expecting it to hit her, but when it didn't, she immediately looked embarrassed. Zavid yanked Elora out of the pen, the little girl squeaking. "Have you seen Fraya?"

Elora just stared at him, confused. "Uh, g-nah, ffz."

Zavid frowned at her weird babbling. He sighed. "Spit the Lego out."Elora shook her head stubbornly. Zavid narrowed his eyes. "I said. Spit. It. Out."

"Gnaf," Elora protested. Zavid sighed, giving her a gentle slap on the back. Squeaking, Elora sighed, spitting out the Lego. As soon as it fell, she looked at it with wide eyes. She flailed her tiny hand, making grabbing motions. Zavid stared at her, annoyed. When he didn't put her down, Elora whined and started crying.

Zavid simply put her down in the pen. When she went to grab another Lego, he quickly stepped in, opening and closing the pen's doors as fast as he could, and gathered up all of them and put them away. Elora didn't like that. She started wailing, pulling at the pen's bars. Zavid ignored her, still panicking about Fraya.

He stopped when he heard the doorknob jiggling. He spun around, terror on his face. James was standing there, his hands on his shoulders like he was holding something. Above him, the Big House's doorknob was shaking. Everything happened in slow motion. Fraya turned visible on top of James' shoulders, successfully opening the door. It swung open, yanking Fraya off of James' shoulders.

She held on to the doorknob, looking below her, high up and stuck. James took off running. "Help!" Fraya cried, but Zavid was already darting after James. If only he had known that he forgot to secure the pen's latch.

Asher noticed and seized the opportunity. He pushed on the door, successfully sliding it open.

"Wai'!" Adira cried. "No!" But it was too late. The herd of little kids busted out, screaming gleefully as they raced out of the Big House.

"Help!" Fraya sobbed. Asher stopped underneath her.

"I can catch you!" He offered. Fraya immediately let go, but she landed piled on top of Asher. The two got to their feet and took off.

"Wait!" Askira shouted. "Help us, too!"

Adira looked back and forth between the herd of children and the Box prisoners. With a tiny sigh, she waddled over and pushed on the side of the Box.

-o-

As Zavid raced after the little boy, the campers gave him curious looks, only a few seconds before they all turned into little kids, too. Zavid groaned. Sometimes, he wished that it was possible to kill the Gods.

Finally, he tackled James. The boy squealed. "You're crushing me!" Zavid ignored him, picking him up and dragging him back to the Big House. He would put the boy in the pen and then go hunting after the newly-turned little children. He frowned when he saw that Fraya wasn't dangling off of the doorknob. He walked into the Big House, his eyes widening when he saw that the pen was open and empty, and the Box was tipped over.

Oh, no.

He shoved James into the pen, duct-taping the latch for extra safety. He could just drop the children in. Sighing, he left the Big House, slamming the door. Time to hunt a bunch of children.

-o-

Out of the newly-turned little kids, he had caught Calla, Dawn, Jackson, Clay, and Jasmine. He dumped them into the pen as they squealed in protest. Except for Dawn. Zavid's best guess was that they didn't turn into their little kid-self, but just got de-aged and kept their personalities.

Dawn was just sitting in the corner, eyes empty of all life, sapped of all joy and child-like ways. It didn't lessen the difficulty of caring for children, though.

Zavid put a flashlight and snacks, to lure the children, into his backpack. He turned to walk towards the door, but stopped, turning around to look at the children of the pen. "Well, little ones," he started, inhaling deeply. "This life...it's full of mysteries and wonders. It's full of dangers and tragedy.

"I have been fighting this battle for a long time...since six o'clock this morning. Who knows how long it will last? If today is the day that I go to the Underworld, please let me live on in your hearts and memories as a hero. Don't forget me. I've done wrong in my life, but now is the time...for me to make those wrongs right. Dedicate your toys to me, in my memory. Don't eat snacks in vain. It may be your last meal. And so, little ones, if I never return...remember me. And let me live on as a legend. Goodbye, maybe for forever. This is a deadly fight and it is risky going out there. Don't resent me."

The children simply stared blankly at him as he turned, inhaling shakily, and marched out of the Big House, closing the door carefully behind him.

It was time to hunt.


	5. Ambush

Zavid had had to go back and get the ropes he forgot, which probably ruined the dramatic effect of his heroic speech. He sniffed the air. The first scent he caught was Willow's, and started tracking it. He came across the little girl. "Come on! We're going back to the Big House!"

Willow stared at him. "No!" She turned and started running as fast as she could on her tiny legs. Zavid darted after her, growling.

"Get back here!"

"Nooooooooooooo!"

"Come ON, Willow! I've already had an awful day!"

Willow didn't respond. She just kept running. Zavid growled, "I swear, if you guys stay as your de-aged selves, I'm certain you demons are literally going to be the death of me."

He was just about to tackle the three year-old, when there was a loud screech from above him. Confused, he stopped and looked up, only to catch a blur jumping from a cabin roof on to his back. Tiny baby hands gripped his shoulders. Whoever was on his back bit his neck. He yelped. The Gods turned the campers into little kids, and gave said little kids _fighting abilities?_

Zavid started racing around and thrashing, attempting to throw the child off of him. The little kid lifted a hand, balled into a fist, landing a blow on his face. Even though the punch was weak, it still hurt. He turned sharply, and heard a squeal as the weight was lifted from his back. He whipped around, growling. The child he had flung off his back was Ben.

He gave Zavid a sly, five-year old grin as he got to his feet. He grabbed a long stick that he conveniently landed next to and held it out. "En garde." Zavid quickly pulled a tough granola bar out of the backpack, dodging to the side as Ben swung the stick at him.

Ben turned to attempt to hit him with the stick again. Zavid parried the attack, thoroughly surprised that the granola bar didn't break in half. Ben swung the stick again, Zavid dodging. He turned to attempt to hit him with the granola bar, which was made with a whole lot of nuts. Ben parried the attack, swiping at Zavid's leg. Zavid jumped back, trying to hit Ben again. He attacked aggressively, trying to get a chance to startle Ben, but each time, the little kid parried perfectly.

Zavid felt like he was in an alternate reality; the situation was that weird. As he parried an attack from Ben, the granola bar broke. Ben saw an opportunity and swung, but Zavid grabbed the stick with his hands to stop it, effectively earning a bruise and what felt like a couple hundred splinters. Ben pulled harshly on the stick, getting it out of Zavid's hands and giving him more splinters.

Ben brought the stick down on Zavid's foot, making him yelp. Zavid quickly swung his hand out, the back of it actually hitting Ben hard on the forehead and knocking him oldown. When he fell, his head hit the hard ground, knocking him out. Zavid stared at the unconscious little boy for a few moments. "Oops."

Zavid yelped when he felt something slice the back of his leg. He whipped around. Askira stood there with a dagger. Zavid had zero idea how she broke the plastic handcuffs. Or how a five-year old could wield a dagger. The Gods really were tormenting him.

Askira attempted to slice him again. He simply stepped out of the way and disarmed her. Wow. Little Askira really wasn't as good a fighter as actual Askira. The girl snarled. "Give that back!"

"Why? So you can kill me? Or at least try? I mean, you're only five. You can't kill me."

"Yes, I can."

"Really? Can you even reach your dagger?" Zavid held the dagger eye-level with him. Askira growled, making a wild attempt to jump and grab it, but failed. Miserably. While she was distracted, Zavid lifted his foot and knocked her over. He set the dagger down, quickly grabbing the ropes out of his backpack and tying her. She growled at him, her green eyes narrowed. He slung both her and the unconscious Ben over his shoulders and took them back to the Big House. He dumped Ben on a cushion in the pen.

Setting the Box back up, he set the tied Askira in it. She glared at him, teeth gritted.

He decided to interrogate her. "Askira."

"What?"

"Where did Willow go?"

"None of your business."

"Askira, I have a dagger."

Little Askira gave him a sort of scared look. "Fine. I don't know."

"Who does?"

"Ask Josephine."

"Where is she?"

"She's probably going to the caves."

"Thanks. You de-aged demons are really unrealistic five-year olds."

"De-aged?"

"Can't tell. Where'd you get the dagger?"

"I found it."

He sighed. "Where'd you find it?"

"The...Hephaphustasee cabin."

He chuckled when she couldn't pronounce Hephaestus. "How'd you know it was called that?"

"Um...insincta."

"You mean instinct?"

"Yeah, that."

"Makes sense."

"How?"

"Can't tell."

"Ugh."

He grinned. "I'm off to find Josephine now. Thanks for telling."

Askira shrugged, narrowing her eyes.

Zavid turned and marched out the door.

* * *

 **THIS IS LIKE A DRAMATIC ACTION MOVIE STARRING LITTLE KIDS.**


	6. A Team?

First, the campers got turned into aggressive little kids, and now, nothing was where it used to be. Every cabin was in a spot he didn't remember. He searched for an hour until he finally found the trail leading to the caves.

When he finally got there, he sniffed the air, immediately smelling Josephine. He followed the trail into a cave. He saw a little girl and immediately pounced. "Hey!" She shouted angrily.

That wasn't Josephine. He stared at the girl with wide eyes. It was Bree. "Bree, where's Josephine? Why are you here?"

"Josephine went to do something at the ocean. I don't know what. She just told me to stay here."

Zavid rubbed his face. "What is this? Some sort of secret society? Is Josephine the Grandmaster?"

Bree shrugged. "I'm just as confused as you are."

Zavid hoisted her on to her feet. "You're coming with me."

Five-year old Bree gave him a curious look, yelping as he dragged her out of the cave. "Where are we going?"

"To the ocean," Zavid said shortly, more focused on finding out what's going on.

"But Josephine told me-"

"I don't care if she told you to stay," Zavid said. "I need to know what's happening. And you're going to help me."

Bree sighed. "I guess..."

Zavid stopped in his tracks. "Wait. Have you seen Adira?"

"Uh...what's she look like?"

Zavid shook his head. "Uh, never mind."

Bree shrugged. Zavid spotted a tiny figure in the distance and broke into a sprint. Bree yelped, trying to run fast enough to keep up with him. Her feet gave out and she fell down, now literally being dragged. Zavid got closer and closer to the tiny child. Bree wasn't making any noise while being dragged, so Zavid had no idea. Finally, he saw the child plainly. Adira. Perfect.

He caught up to her. "Adira!" He panted, breathless. He ran on to the grass. The little girl whipped around, crying.

He stopped, letting go of Bree's hand and walking up to Adira. "Are you okay?" He asked the crying girl.

"Is _s_ _he_ okay?" Bree snapped, getting to her tiny toddler feet. She spat grass out of her mouth. "She's not the one who just got dragged!"

Zavid turned. "I didn't drag-" he stopped when he noticed the dirt and grass stains. "Oh, sorry. Also, you guys have mature vocabulary for being de-aged. The Gods are giving me a REALLY weird punishment," he muttered.

"What?" Bree asked, raising an eyebrow.

Adira stopped crying. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to let Askurra and Neeza and Jossypheen out."

Zavid sighed. "It's alright. You can make it up to me by helping the two of us."

Adira nodded. "Okay."

Zavid grinned. "Come on, then!"

-o-

 **MEANWHILE, AT THE BIG HOUSE...**

 **"THE GREAT VICTORY"**

 _Jasmine tapped the floor repeatedly with her little finger. Without the toys, all the little kids were bored. Calla stared through the pen bars, then reached through them with her little hand, attempting to knock over the Lego bin. There were boxes underneath it. If she could push the boxes and make them fall, maybe the Lego bin would tip over and dump the colorful toy blocks into the play pen. Calla tried and tried to reach the bottom box, but to no avail._

 _She whined, desperate. She kept trying. That's when she noticed something Zavid dropped into the pen earlier. A marker. Grinning and giggling, she grabbed that. She reached it through the pen bars. It took a long time. A long time. She pressed and pressed with the marker. It was taking all the strength out of her tiny body. But, at last, the Lego bin tipped over. The little kids were showered with slightly painful rainbow toy bricks. They ignored the painful part. They giggled and squealed happily. Calla eagerly began to build...something. Jasmine joined in, and they built a bunch of different things._

 _Askira watched them from the Box, eyes narrowed. She kept making disgusted noises, spitting out insults and cuss words. But they went unheard. Frustrated, Askira just leaned against the side of the Box, closing her eyes and trying to daydream to block out their happy noises._

 _Calla and Jasmine chatted back and forth as they built, humming and laughing. When Ben became conscious, he and James started building a Trojan horse, Ben wanting to replicate his first one, which had been perfect until Nesia destroyed it._

 _Yes, this was a victory. A great, great victory. Thanks to Calla._

-o-

Zavid stopped abruptly, causing Bree to slam into his legs. She fell on her back, slightly dazed. He smelled the air. It hung heavy with Asher and Fraya's scents. They were fresh. He narrowed his eyes. They were there.

Sure enough, what felt like an invisible little kid hit him. Adira and Bree retreated into the bushes for shelter.

Zavid heard a thump as he flung the invisible child off. He turned around. Fraya was visible again, shaking her head. "Get him, Asher!"

Zavid should have been prepared, but definitely wasn't expecting Asher to grab his arm and yank it. "Ouch!" He exclaimed, glaring at Asher. Fraya punched his knee. His reflexes kicked in. Literally kicked. His foot slammed into Fraya's stomach, causing her to double over. Asher and Zavid stopped their fighting immediately. "Oh gosh, Fraya," he murmured to the little girl. "Je suis désolé. I-I didn't mean to hit you."

Fraya rubbed her stomach, shaking her head. "I'm fine."

Zavid sighed. "I'm just trying to find Josephine."

Asher nodded. "We are, too."

Zavid raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

The two little kids nodded. Zavid grinned. "Then let's team up."

Fraya and Asher exchanged looks, then started whispering to each other. Fraya gave Zavid a suspicious look, then whispered to Asher more. Finally, they both nodded. Fraya looked at Zavid. "I guess...we'll do it."


	7. Long Walk

Jackson sat in the pen, staring longingly at a plate of snacks not far. He reached through the bars, flailing his hand. "Hungreh," he whined. "Hung-y."

"I'm hungrah, too," Ben squeaked.

-o-

They were all pretty worn out. "Are we almost to the ocean?" Fraya panted, wiping sweat off her face.

Zavid shrugged. "I have no idea. Everything's all switched around."

"Did it used to be different?" Bree asked. Zavid nodded. "Then maybe we can..." She frowned, having no idea what to do.

"I smell saltwater!" Zavid exclaimed. "Come on!" He suddenly stopped. With an angry sigh, he rubbed his face. "I forgot the others."

"What?" Fraya squeaked.

"It's snack time," Zavid groaned. "They're probably starving. We'll come back later."

As they turned, Zavid accidentally kicked Bree. She went flying, rolling like a bowling ball. Zavid watched, eyes wide. "Oh, no! Are you alright?"

Bree sat up, spitting sand out of her mouth. "Yeah...I'm fineee."

When she elongated the 'fine', Zavid frowned. Something told him that they certainly weren't going to be ultra mature for much longer.

Asher whined. "What is Josephine doing?"

"Maybe she's planning to rid the world of all those Legos," Fraya joked.

Bree yelped when Adira bumped into her and accidentally knocked her over. "Whoops," Adira murmured. "Sorryyyyyyy."

Bree got up. "Why am I the only one who keeps getting accidentally hurt?"

"Probry because you are hurt-able," Asher answered.

"Probry?" Zavid muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Asher nodded. "Yeah, thas how you say it."

"Is not!" Fraya protested.

"Is too!" Asher said, sticking his tongue out.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is NOT!"

"Is TOO!"

"IS NOT!"

"IS TOO!"

"IS NOTTTTTTTTT!"

"IS TOOOOOOOO!"

"Is too!" Adira agreed.

Asher smirked at Fraya. "See?"

"Actually, it's not," Bree muttered. Fraya smirked back at Asher.

 _Great,_ Zavid thought. _I'm stuck in a war between four little kids._

-o-

Thank goodness Zavid had ropes. Threatening to tie up the little kids got them to stop arguing over how to pronounce "probably". Good thing, too. They were still far from the Big House, it seemed like. If the Gods hadn't switched the camp around, they would've been there by now. Zavid only hoped the children weren't too hungry. On top of that, the cut Askira gave him earlier was starting to itch. Really bad. Like, really, really bad. Did she put itching powder on her dagger? It sure felt like it.

Asher was annoyed. Really annoyed. He could have won that argument with Fraya had Zavid not threatened to tie them. Rude.

Bree was pretty frustrated, too. Her knees were stinging from when they got scraped when Zavid dragged her along. And she was sore from getting hurt so much.

Adira was pretty excited for snacks. She hoped that they were sweet, too. Yum.

Fraya walked with a smirk on her face. Sure, she didn't necessarily win the argument, but she knew she would have. It was pretty obvious. Maybe.


	8. Adira's Time to Shine

After feeding the little kids back at the Big House, Zavid, Bree, Adira, Fraya, and Asher continued on their way to the ocean.

Zavid groaned, miserable and exhausted, as Fraya and Asher jumped up and down on him, their little legs kicking his back. "Fraya? Asher?"

"Yeah?" Asher squeaked.

"Why don't you two play a game of 'Who can walk on the ground the longest?'"

Fraya and Asher immediately dropped from his back. "I'm gonna win!" They hissed at each other.

Zavid sighed in relief. He smelled the saltwater again. "Come on, guys! Come on!"

They broke into sprinting until they came across the beach. "Is that Josephine?" Bree asked, pointing at a tiny head bobbing in the distance.

Zavid narrowed his eyes, nodding. The little group went after the child. "Josephine!" Zavid shouted. Josephine immediately broke into a sprint. They chased after her.

Josephine suddenly disappeared into...the ground? Zavid and friends finally stumbled upon an opening in the sand.

"I don't trust that," Bree grumbled, eyeing the hole.

Zavid gently nudged Fraya into the hole. She squealed, a sound which was immediately followed by a soft thump. "Don't do that!" She squealed up.

"Sorry!" Zavid called down, before nudging Asher in. Asher tried to jump up, but failed, falling in.

"He nearly fell on me!" Fraya cried out angrily. Zavid nudged Bree and Adira in quickly, ignoring their protests.

"Are you of the way?" He asked. They all said yes, so he gently fell in, landing on his feet. "Okay, come on."

They started walking. Zavid raised an eyebrow, thoroughly surprised that there was a hallway filled with torches. Wow. What were the Gods even doing? Were their senses of logic completely gone? Apparently so.

They were finally stopped by a dead end. Zavid inwardly cursed. Adira found a stone "button" on the weird...solid sand wall. Above it read:

 _ **ACTIVATE THE ENTRY MAZE**_

 _ **FRIENDS, BE WARNED. YOU WILL BE SEPERATED.**_

Adira grinned. A maze! Zavid noticed only when Adira was already using the strength in her little body to slide the stone into the wall to "activate the entry maze".

"Adira, NO!" He cried.

"ADIRA YES!" She shouted, the stone clicking in place as maze walls abruptly surrounded them, cutting them off from each other.

-o-

Adira was absolutely giddy with excitement. She loved mazes. She instantly began navigating her way around, eyes bright.

Left, left, right, left, right, right, right, dead end, back up, left, abrupt right, left, left, dead end, right, right, left, right, door.

Adira stopped at the door, a puzzled look on her face. Next to it was a quill dipped in gold ink. On the door was a maze, like the ones in the kid menus at restaurants. She picked up the quill, carefully guiding the tip around the little maze. When she reached the end, a slot below the maze opened. Before taking out what was inside, she scribbled on the door: 'ADIRA WAS HERE'. She reached into the slot, plucking out a key. The door parted and opened, and she stepped through. The door closed behind her. There were more twisting pathways in front of her. Before she moved on, she grinned and yelled to herself in excitement:

"IT'S ADIRA'S TIME TO SHINE!"

-o-

Right, right, upwards staircase, left, left, left, abrupt right, abrupt left, right, right, downwards staircase, right, wall.

On the wall was some sort of puzzle. The puzzle pieces were basically the different body parts of a winged goddess. It was completely mismatched. Below the puzzle, there was a keyhole. Adira tried to use the key she held, but it didn't work. Pursing her lips, she reached up and grabbed the stone puzzle pieces as she began to rearrange them. It took about six minutes. She finally placed down the puzzle piece of the left wing. It clicked and the completed puzzle sealed in place.

Adira tried the key again. This time, there was a click. The key stuck in the keyhole, and the wall parted. Behind it, little Bree sat there. They exchanged little hugs, then Adira grabbed her hand and pulled her into the maze. Adira loudly sang a song about mazes that Bree attempted to sing, too, but Adira never repeated any one lyric. So, Bree simply listened.

-o-

Upwards staircase, upwards staircase, upwards staircase, upwards staircase, HOW MANY STAIRCASES COULD THERE POSSIBLY BE? Left, left, right, right, upwards staircase, right, downwards staircase, door.

Bree watched as Adira used the quill on the maze on the door. Adira scribbled 'ADIRA WAS HERE' before reaching into a slot to pull out a key. While she did that, Bree quickly added 'AND BREE' to what Adira wrote, before the door opened.

They slipped into the maze once more.

This time, Bree wasn't even paying attention to where they were going, or every single turn they made, because she was pretty bored.

Before she slammed face-first into a door. She pulled her face away, grabbing it and groaning in pain. Adira rearranged the puzzle on the door, which ended up being one of those weird masks that looks like it's laughing. The puzzle sealed in place and Adira slipped the key into the keyhole, turning it. It clicked and the door opened, revealing Asher.

Asher and Adira burst into what seemed like a complete musical, and Bree groaned as they plunged back into the maze.

-o-

Adira and Asher decided to take their sweet time scribbling doodles on the door with the quill. After a few minutes, Adira did the little maze on the door and it parted.

Left, left, downwards staircase, downwards staircase, secret entrance behind statue of Eris, ri-wait, statue of Eris? Left, right, right, right, right, upwards staircase, puzzle.

When Adira finished the puzzle, it ended up being a ghost. She used the key, and this time, it was Fraya.

Adira twirled on her heel, pointing back to the maze. "Onward, my companions!"

Asher and Fraya saluted her, following after her. Bree sighed, then went after them.

Now, time to find Zavid.


	9. Finding Josephine

"Davi! I foun' you!" Adira shouted. "Look! I foun' Davi!"

"His name's not Davi!" Fraya protested. "It's Avvin!"

Zavid rubbed his face. "It doesn't matter. Adira, please tell me there's a way out of here."

"Always!" She pointed at what looked like a trap door. "Down."

Zavid searched for a while to find a way to open it, finally finding one. He pulled the handle, opening the trap door. Steps lead down into some lighted passage. With a sigh, he lead the little kids down the stairs. They walked down the passage for a bit, until they heard a woman say "And welcome to tonight's trivia show!"

Sphinx. Of course. "And here we have our contestants," she announced. "Zavid, Adira, Asher, Fraya, and Bree."

"Look," Zavid said. "We just want to get through here. Without anything in our way."

"Too bad," the sphinx retorted, an overzealous smile plastered on her face. "First question! What sport has you play with a black and white ball?"

"Soccer," Bree said. "Easy."

"Correct! I'll think of harder questions now. Now, Asher, what does your name mean?"

Asher hummed, when a thought popped into his head. "Happy one!" He giggled. "Did I get it?"

"You did!"

"Yay!"

"Fraya, what is a place that has a very large amount of ghosts?"

"Two, actually!" She squealed. "Camp and cemet'y."

"Precisely! Goodness, I'm making these questions too easy!" Her overly cheerful voice was starting to sound vaguely annoyed. "These last two questions are going to be difficult, so be prepared. First, who created this maze?"

Adira jumped up and down, waving her arms. "Ooh, ooh! Jossypheen, with help!"

The sphinx grinned. "Wro-" she froze, stiffening. "No, that's right! Argh!"

"Yay!"

"Not yay! Ugh!" Regaining her composure, she put on her cheesy smile again. "This is going to be the hardest. Zavid, you haven't answered yet. So this question is going to be for you! You'll never guess it! What...is my name?"

Zavid froze. That was an unfair question! When he didn't respond, the sphinx gave a dramatic laugh. "Zavid, I'm giving you thirty seconds to answer this question! What is my name?"

Thinking of a plan as quickly as he could, he stared her in the eye, and said, "Terrible, probably."

That caught her by surprise. Now with an opening, Zavid punched her square in the face, stunning her. Shifting into his manticore form, he had the kids climb on his back and then took off. The sphinx roared and chased after them. Zavid kicked up a rock, aiming it at her face. She yelped as it hit her. Before long, they had escaped her.

Seeing steps, Zavid raced up them, until they found themselves back on the beach again. The kids got off his back and he shifted back into his human form, grumbling, "Josephine, I swear."

~~o~~

"Our plan is working," Josephine murmured, observing Zavid from afar.

Askira scoffed. "We had a plan?"

"I f'eed you from a box! I woul' not have done that if I di'n't have a plan."

"You have a plan, but it not _our_ plan."

"I have the autoritia!" Josephine snapped. "I can make your life bad!"

"Oh no, anything but that," Askira grumbled sarcastically. Josephine slapped the back of her head. "Ow!"

"Follow my plan!" She hissed.

"Fine."

"Good."

"So what's the plan?"

"We lure them into a trap...of snakes! Then, the snakes...eat them! Then we win."

"Where would we get snakes?"

Josephine makes a face. "I mess upped."

"Why don't we lure them over here?" Askira suggested. "Then, we ambush!"

"Ooh, yeah! We do that!"

~~o~~

"Help!" Came a child's scream, from a nearby hole in the sand. The team exchanged glances, then raced into the hole. "Help me!"

They stopped, looking around. "Wait..." Zavid murmured, narrowing his eyes. "There's no one..."

"It's an ambush!" Asher cried, too late. A swarm of little kids punched and kicked at them, until they were on the ground. They tied them up and then disappeared, leaving only Josephine and Askira.

"Haha! Victory!" Josephine cried. "We have won!"

Askira grabbed Zavid's backpack, digging around in it. She pulled out the dagger he had taken from her earlier. With a grin, she held the tip at his throat.

"Now," Josephine said, glaring at him. "Don't give us any more Legos," she demanded. "We want better toys and we want them now! So give us them, or else!"

His jaw dropped. "That's what this is about? Better toys?"

"Yes. Now give them to us!"

"You could have just asked! You put me through all this trouble - okay, Askira, can you put the dagger down so I can talk properly?"

"Do it," Josephine said. Grumbling, Askira threw it to the side. "Zavi," Josephine continued. "Zavi, Zavi, Zavi. You also put Askya in the box."

"I know."

"That was mean."

"No, it was-" he was interrupted by Fraya tackling Askira.

"That's what you get when you threaten Avvin!" The little girl shouted. She threw the dagger to Bree (had she cut the ropes that tied Bree or something?) and the other girl cut the ropes tying Zavid.

Zavid got to his feet, glaring down at Josephine, who stared up with wide eyes. Bree, Asher, and Adira tackled her. Getting the ropes out of his backpack, Zavid bent down and tied up Josephine and Askira.

"Finding kids is hard but capturing them isn't," he muttered, shaking his head. "Okay, I'm taking you back."

"No!" Josephine screeched.

"And making you prison cells."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Then I'm not giving you any toys."

"Noooooooooooooo!"

"Come on, you two."

He threw both of them over his shoulder and marched out of the hole, making sure his mini team was following him. "Right. You two are going in jail, then I'm going to go find the other ones that escaped."

As he took them back to the Big House, they kicked, screamed and punched, furious and crying.


End file.
